Learning Mathematics in a Visuospatial Format: A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Mental Abacus Instruction

Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA

Y

13

National Science Foundation (NSF)

0910206

Mathematics Education; Randomized Controlled Trials; Spatial Ability; Mental Computation; Number Concepts; Manipulative Materials; Teaching Methods; Mathematics Curriculum; Arithmetic; Elementary School Students; Elementary School Mathematics; Mathematics Achievement; Short Term Memory; Mathematics Tests; Expertise; Cognitive Ability; Mathematics Instruction; Foreign Countries

10.1111/cdev.12515

0009-3920

Mental abacus (MA) is a technique of performing fast, accurate arithmetic using a mental image of an abacus; experts exhibit astonishing calculation abilities. Over 3 years, 204 elementary school students (age range at outset: 5-7 years old) participated in a randomized, controlled trial to test whether MA expertise (a) can be acquired in standard classroom settings, (b) improves students' mathematical abilities (beyond standard math curricula), and (c) is related to changes in basic cognitive capacities like working memory. MA students outperformed controls on arithmetic tasks, suggesting that MA expertise can be achieved by children in standard classrooms. MA training did not alter basic cognitive abilities; instead, differences in spatial working memory at the beginning of the study mediated MA learning.

As Provided

2016

EJ1106569